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Dergan Roj
Dergan Roj (64 BBY — 4 ABY) is now regarded by historians as one of the galaxy's noteworthy statesmen. He is credited not only with participation in the Galactic Republic in its final days, and with major contributions to the Rebel Alliance, but also with the foundation of the Caspian Democratic Union, a dynamic Galactic entity. In Republican Times A Rivalry is Cultured Hailing from the bustling world of Eriadu in the Seswenna Sector, young Dergan was a childhood rival of Wilhuff Tarkin, whose family governed nearly every facet of the planet's society. At every level of school, every simulation, every competition, Roj would be pitted against young Wilhuff. Tarkin's own family would advocate for Roj to compete against him, and they were kept in classes and assignments either together, or arranged in a manner so as to end up against each other. Wilhuff frequently bested him, but many of those instances could be attributed to Tarkin either stepping outside the stated rules of the competition or by outside interference. Tarkin himself did not regard Roj with disdain, but treated him more as a sparring partner. Dergan learned much about how to anticipate, identify, and counter treachery, and how to rise above results, no matter how arranged and manipulated they are. This rivalry continued on into the Eriadu military, where both of these young men learned and served with distinction. Whereas Tarkin had political aclivity and aspirations, Dergan remained out of the arena of politics. He realized that contesting the Tarkin family in the realm of athletics, mathematics, arts, or military tactics was tame when compared to the ruthlessness of politics, where there was no such thing as "a draw" or compromise. Like every Eriaduan, he was Humanocentric, but did not take the elitist air and arrogance towards "lesser" species to the same lengths. Instead, he strove to, at the very least, understand the unique qualities of each species that could possibly be utilized in a competition. Near Humans, or Human variants, he saw as adaptive, instead of weakened or unequal. On this single issue he differed with most Eriaduans, but he would never abandon his Eriaduan heritage of seeking the success of Humans first and foremost. He did, however, entertain the notion of compromise and co-existance. His service in the Eriduan military flowed into a commission in the Seswenna Sector fleets, where he served with mild, expected distinction. With Seswenna under the governship of the Tarkin family, which also had family members placed in high authority of the sector's military, Roj had to "play along" and go about his everyday existance. His military position did, though, allow him to meet and learn from other famous officers, such as those from Corellia, among them Garm Bel Iblis. When the Grand Army of the Republic was formed by Chancellor Palpatine in 22 BBY, the Seswenna forces were folded into the new Republic assets, and Roj's service was transferred to a Republic fleet. In the Service of the Republic As a Republic officer, Roj was assigned first to the command of an Acclamator-class Assault Star Destroyer. The Purveyor was first part of the force dispatched to Rhen Var to retake the planet from CIS forces, then again conveyed Republic forces to the Battle of Thule. The Republic forces continued to amass, and Purveyor was sent within a larger force in the retaking of Mirgoshir. His charge rarely was under duress, as the Republic clones served their exact purposes and exhausted themselves doing battle with the enemy primarily on the surfaces of the planets. One trend in particular that amazed him was the wanton scale of the destruction rendered between the two sides at these locations. Clones were constantly rotating through the ships, picked up at one location, deployed at another, only to die in a blizzard of laser fire against machines. While this sort of attrition was understandable, from a strategic standpoint, it nonetheless pained him. Purveyor remained with its parent fleet, accompanying Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, and was soon dispatched to Kamino to protect it from seizure by CIS forces, bent on cutting off the source of clones. Next, it was off to Naboo to retrieve the Jedi knights who had taken part in the Battle of Ohma-D'un. After a few months of downtime, reloading and refitting his ship, Roj and his charges once again accompanied the Jedi Knights on another campaign, this time to Muunilinst for a titanic battle against one of the cornerstones of the Separatists. After the victory there, Purveyor stayed on as part of the blockade force. After four months on blockade assignment, Roj received a summons from the Tarkin family in Eriadu, personally requesting him to return to his homeworld and command a Republic warship in that sector's fleet. He left Purveyor in the hands of a new captain, and took what officers agreed to accompany him along. Home Isn't What It Used To Be Upon his arrival back home to Eriadu, this Captain of the Galactic Republic was re-acquainted with the Tarkin family, now even more extensively entrenched in the government. After a one-month refamiliarization period, Roj was given command of an Eriaduan ship and charged with the protection of the Seswenna Sector from "those that would challenge the sovereignty of the Republic". Most of his officers were retained, and served under him. Roj and his crew would be here in Seswenna when the defeat of the Separatist forces was realized and the Jedi Purge was undertaken. Because of his past standing as Wilhuff Tarkin's "trusted sparring partner", Dergan became an aide-de-camp of the newly appointed Moff. When Tarkin would embark on matters for the service of the Emperor, the Seswenna Sector fleet would be placed under Roj's watch, while Wilhuff's brother Gideon was acting as Minister of Defence for the sector. In Imperial Times Breaking the Bantha's Back In 18 BBY, then-Captain Roj was accompanying Tarkin to Ghorman as part of an endeavour to quell anti-taxation demonstrations. Without seeking advice from his staff (but undoubtedly after receiving advice from Palpatine), Tarkin landed his Star Destroyer directly upon the protestors — the event has since been known as the Ghorman Massacre. Dergan looked on from his own ship, shocked, but knowing better than to protest. In that moment he had finally witnessed the cold-bloodedness of his childhood rival. Later, a few terse, but carefully dressed, words were exchanged between the two Eriaduans, and it left Roj disenchanted with the true nature of this new Empire. Examination of all the options, though, left him with little recourse but to continue on his current status — he would, however, begin to distance himself from Tarkin little by little. Through discourse with Tarkin (in ever more rare occasions), Roj was appraised of the construction of the first Death Star, but was never told any further details. Putting the pieces together, Roj realized what a weapon such as that in the hands of Tarkin would mean for the galaxy, and resolutely began to gather up resources he trusted. He submitted his request for a reassignment to Minister Gideon Tarkin in 17 BBY, and thus embarked on a career in the Imperial Navy – away from and disassociated with Eriadu any longer. Captain Roj was given command of HIMS Colossus, a Victory-class Star Destroyer, and assigned to one of the new Sector Fleets. Acquiring the Repulse Over the next three years, and several minor engagements with riff-raff and tours of every kind, Roj had built up a solid dossier. He commanded well, and kept things in straightforward order. Many of his contemporaries viewed him as "overly content" with his station, while superior officers were mildly surprised with his lack of eager pursuit of promotion — so reputed was Eriadu's traditional dealings with the rest of the galaxy and of its "favorite son", Tarkin. Colossus was kept in tip-top order, and it was upon this ship that Roj acquired Orton Trissard in his nexus of friends and confidants. Trissard had just come aboard as a Naval doctor, and the two shared similar philosophical beliefs. A half-year later, Naval tactics and doctrine in the sectors necessitated reshuffling of assignments. The Colossus was slated to be included in a several-ship battle line, while patrol duty and tours would be undertaken by elder starships, with command opportunities open. Imperial High Command approved of Roj's methods and references, and offered him command of just such an arrangement. Jumping at the chance, he took along Trissard, Wilham Blakeney (his executive officer), Colossus's engineer Uhlers Domblebey, and a few others who had been with him since Eriadu, and took command of the Venator-class Star Destroyer ''Repulse''. It had been recently refitted for use as a carrier-cruiser, operating in remote locations where the brand new ''Imperial'' Star Destroyers were not quite needed. Atrocious Attrition 13 BBY saw Roj and the Repulse dispatched to the region around the Centrality – the "Old Territories" – to support and expand upon the re-discoveries there. The big attention-getter was Renatasia, a colony world of Grizmallt that had languished in obscurity for over 3000 years. Repulse toured the region extensively, combing the hyperspace routes branching off the Perlemian Trade Route for any additional material relevant to Renatasia's re-discovery. At one point, the crew had a brief stopover in an obscure, wayward system named Caspia. There, they met their first Sarians and the enterprising, hardy beings that were the Caspian people. The Imperial staff there, sequestered away into encampments such as Groton and the drilling and refueling rig over Kichnar, kept a vain indifference to the native populace. During one discourse with the outpost's commandant, Roj commented upon a directive the commandant made of a Sarian attendant. The commandant retorted, not knowing of Roj's Eriaduan heritage, "That's nothing compared to the contempt Eriaduans hold of even us. Have you run into that monster Tarkin lately?" Roj did not comment further. Later, his interactions introduced him to the likes of Ryori Camm, Metolus Forsythe and Leidan Adamov. Adamov, particularly, struck him as a wise-beyond-his-years individual. Trissard formed a fast friendship with Camm, the two having very deep passions for the sciences and mathematics. As the time to move on approached, Adamov introduced Roj to Teodore Poole, a resolute and reliable affiliate of his that had Imperial training despite being Caspian-born. Poole was assigned to Roj to become his "guide" through this region of space, and so, Repulse soon left to proceed along its mission. Within a month, though, Repulse would be summoned to Renatasia itself to lend aid to the subjugation effort there. The sight that greeted the crew of Repulse was ghastly — the Imperial and Centran forces on the ground were losing thousands daily. Repulse joined the battle line, contributing her troopers to the nightmare planetside. Roj then received orders to begin a ferry service, using his Venator-class Star Destroyer in a role it was familiar with — locating regional garrisons with surplus troops and material, pick those assets up, and relay them to Renatasia. Leaving behind its trooper compliment and most of its fighters in the care of siege-bound ships, Roj's ship left and made circuits to over a dozen worlds, among them Ord Vaxal, Ord Thera, and Krittain. Once the war upon Renatasia was over and the Empire and Centrality had declared victory, Roj and his crew surveyed the destruction and horrific loss of life. Roj and Trissard would, in quiet discussion, resolve to never be a part of something so oppressive again. Reinforcing Roj's sentiments was a HoloNet transmission from Wilhuff Tarkin, addressed to Roj personally, once the now-Grand Moff learned that his childhood sparring-partner was on the closing Order of Battle roster. The message curtly said, "Pity to see things haven't changed. Second again? Come now, a true Eriaduan would have crushed that nest in a day." Roj and his staff would spend the next months reassembling its crew, retraining and refitting its starfighter complement, and requesting a much more appealing posting. Trissard would be forced to leave Repulse for a span to serve in the higher offices of the Imperial Medical Corps, but Poole would stay on with Roj. In 10 BBY, Eriadu's "second favorite son" would begrudgingly attend the wedding of Wilhuff Tarkin to a member of the Motti family, and would return to his crew noting that he had enough of "being sick". During its time of rotating trooper battalions through its complement, Repulse would briefly host a contingent of Imperial soldiers assembled from Krittain. Thomas Mahon would be a prominent officer within this group. Becoming a Commodore and Staking Out a Sector of Solitude As galactic events started to boil towards a tantamount in 4 BBY, the Imperial Navy was on the precipice of completely replacing the Venator-class warships with the larger and much more capable Imperial-class Star Destroyers. Through some behind-the-scenes machinations, Roj managed to retain his treasured Repulse, convincing Imperial High Command to allow him to develop a fighter-training system with the warship serving as a roving training carrier. Roj started to see scores of pilots and service crew roll through his ship on training rotations. Pilots such as Jon Vander and Tomax Bren spent at least some time with the Repulse in the Actis-class interceptors, V-Wings, and TIE fighters that constituted its training craft before going off to frontline assignments. As a pattern of operations became established, secondary starships were added to supplement Repulse, among them Nebulon-B Frigates. Roj was a commodore in practice, but the rank of Commodore was conveyed to him upon formal recognition of his command of two warships-of-the-line, thanks in no small part to the arrival of Orton Trissard in late 3 BBY with a second Venator-class Star Destroyer in tow — the ''Warspite''. This Star Destroyer was much newer than Repulse, having been among the last batch built by Kuat Drive Yards and having just undergone an extensive refit. Trissard had used substantial influence to get the warship assigned to Roj's endeavour, and had brought with him Caleb Anson, captain of the Warspite, Jake Myar, Lawton Fraser, Abram Triplet and a score of young, impressionable officers. Anson and Roj initially had their differences (Trissard had exaggerated his friend's "pleasant demeanor" to Anson in convincing him to meet up with Roj), but steadily grew to have an understanding. At no point would this be more tested, and more needed, than in the next six months with the unprecedented Corellian Treaty Accords, End of the Great Jedi Purge, and the Declaration of Rebellion. Anson, as it turned out, was a disciple of Garm Bel Iblis, and while Roj and Trissard observed and contemplated the course of galactic events as they precipitated faster and faster, the newly-added captain felt himself slightly alienated by the two senior officers. Unknown to them, he was harboring his own considerations of defecting to join his mentor, and had taken the command posting of Warspite simply because it afforded him the easiest means of eventually disappearing from the Imperial scene. In is preparations, Roj found him out, and he and Trissard confronted him in an intense standoff in Anson's quarters aboard Warspite. The heated exchange actually resolved well, with the three arriving at the resolution to defect all together. Soon after, they approached Poole, Fraser, Myar, Domblebey, and the rest of the officers. Nearly to a man, they were successful in convincing these officers to defect — if not to the Alliance persay, then to not participate in the inevitable Imperial reprisal. They would maintain their Imperial identification auspices as long as necessary (or possible) before disappearing into obscurity. During the next months, Roj's little flotilla would see the additions of a few cruisers, frigates, and pickets, all of the nondescript second- or third- rate standard — vessels that would not be immediately missed by Imperial High Command if they were to up and disappear. The entire outfit began to explore locations to use as hiding places — one appealing locale was Bimmiel, and the region surrounding it. Remote and off the "beaten path", this and other uninhabited systems in the area formed the basis of a contingency plan set forth by Roj, Poole, and Trissard to use when the time came. They nicknamed it the "Barren Sector". In the meantime, Anson made quiet, gradual steps to contact Garm Bel Iblis and inform the now-Alliance leader of their intentions and support. In Rebellious Times In His Later Days Seeking Refuge The galactic scope had been turned completely upside down, and while there was an even split between celebration and anxiety, for one small fleet of weary, haggard warriors, all that mattered was finding a place to rest. Scant few star systems were placid enough to gain respite in, while the more remote locations, out in the Outer Rim, either were not hospitable or in possession of enough resources with which to repair the damage incurred. Half of Roj's fleet had met their destruction at and in the days following Endor, and the other half were in varying degrees of damage — no ship had come through unscathed. To a being, though, the overwhelming sentiment was to intern at an agreeable location and disassociate with the war's fallout. The Admiral's condition was getting less stable by the day, and the consensus among the officers was to investigate the status of Poole's homeworld, Caspia. Jump by jump, Roj and his staff shepherded their fleet along. Most of the well-known shipyards were either occupied, in dispute, or uncompassionate to their state of affairs. They practically willed the remaining ships into Caspia, and in fact had to leave ''Stalwart'' at Yariz to be collected later simply because the cruiser couldn't go any farther. Foundation of a Legacy MORE INFO HERE... arrived in Caspia, founded the Caspian Democratic Union, and died three months later of complications from Zithrom's Disease. Cultural Impact In 10 ABY, the Admiralty unveiled plans for a new class of warship for the Navy to act as a battleship. In honor of the Union's founder, the class was christened the ''Admiral Roj'' class, with the first three — Admiral Roj, Warspite, and Repulse — being relevant to the Admiral's history. 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